Warwickshire Golf
Arianna has an outstanding end to 2024!
Arianna Virik has completed another amazing year by winning in the UAE! She had qualified for the final of the 28th Faldo Junior Tour to play in the European Grand Final in the under 16 girls category whilst still only 14 years of age.
Playing 3 rounds with scores of 76, 73 and a sensational 67 (3 under par) she won by 5 shots. This success qualifies her for the Asian Grand Final in Vietnam next year!
Arianna had a successful year in 2023 but 2024 was going to prove to be a further step upwards in her golfing career.
She was unable to play in the Warwickshire Ladies County Championship however, she won the Girls County Championship for the 2nd year running and even greater success is now being achieved at National level.
In the R&A Girls U16 Amateur Championship with 80 girls from around the world in the event, she finished 13th amongst those with handicaps of 2.9 and below, playing a very wet Berkshire course. Very impressive!
Last year Arianna won the Scottish Girls Amateur U 14 Championship but this year entered the Scottish Girls Amateur Closed under 18 event. Coming from 3 down against an 18 year old she won on the 20th hole to win another national title! This was a huge success remembering that she is still only 14! We were so delighted for her!
She played in her 2nd pro event as 1 of 3 amateurs in the Women’s Golf Championship Invitational at Mill Green at the end of August finishing T-11th out of 36 with +3 playing off the men’s black tees.
She played in the AIG Women’s Open pre qualifying in August which was a wonderful experience for her finishing 56th out of 107 entrants beating her 2 professional playing partners by 3 shots!
The English U16 Girls proved to be a bit of a challenge in the 2nd round after an under-par 1st round but she made the cut for the final round and still finished 17th out of a very strong international field of 89 being the youngest player in the U16 field.
Arianna also played in the St Andrews Junior Ladies Open and qualified for match play with +1 as the top 16 stroke play qualifiers. She won her 1st match but unfortunately the 40 mph winds got the better of her in the quarter finals.
Together with Maisie Halstead and Serafima Taylor she has been included in the England Golf West Midlands Regional Training Squad. These 3 girls are in a squad of only 8. Warwickshire are thrilled with having this trio to inspire all other Warwickshire players. I do hope they will impart any tips learnt at these sessions!
Arianna has still managed to support Warwickshire when she can in Stablefords and matches and of course we and the other girls love having her there! To say we are proud of what she is achieving does not seem enough but we can’t wait to see what 2025 will hold for her.
This is just a small tribute to Arianna. So many other Warwickshire girls warrant a mention and we hope to do this very soon.
Pat Hale
Breaking News!! Arianna wins in Johor!
Arianna played in the Girls U18 Championship in the Palm Resort Junior Open in Johor, Malaysia, 16th - 19th December. With rounds of 78 (+6), 75 (+3) & 70 (-2), she won by 2 shots!
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